I've just finished the last edits before my new novel is sent out to publishers and there is just one task left to do. It's a seemingly simple one on the surface, but I'm finding it extremely difficult.
At the suggestion of my agent, I'm attempting to rename one of my two main characters. There is nothing wrong with the name I've given her, except that it is the name of the main character in some upcoming "made-to-be-a-bestseller" trilogy, you know the kind that seem to come out every month these days. So to avoid being linked to something like that, it's just easier to change the name. Sounds easy, right? Well, not when you've come to know this character by one name for the past year.
It really shouldn't make any difference. Her name has no significance to the story and no one will ever know it wasn't always the character's given name. Yet, it still matters. Try to imagine Alice being called Emily and for whatever reason it doesn't work. However, if you never knew her as Alice, it wouldn't bother you at all. But since you do, it does. That's the situation I'm in. Every name I try out feels wrong somehow.
Feeling is what I will go on in my search. When I stumble upon a name that feels right, I will confidently hit the "replace all" button. Until then, it's off to the baby name lists to find my character the name she never had.
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